My Story

Carjacked and brutally assaulted, Wangu was shattered. Years later, she has resiliently risen above her trauma and now reaches out to those in need. From the challenges and stigma she went through, Wangu founded The Wangu Kanja Foundation that supports survivors of sexual violence to access medical, psychological, legal redress as well as creating awareness.

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Failure by the government to act on recommendations of the documented horrors in the 2007/8 Post Election Violence (PEV) report compiled by the Justice Philip Waki-led Commission on Inquiry into the Post-Election Violence (CIPEV) continues to be a source of concern which only compounds the fears of Kenyans. Almost ten years on from Kenya’s brush with all-out civil

He told me to undress, I refused—I said, ‘No. What you are doing is wrong.’ He asked me again. I said, ‘No, I don’t know you. What you’re asking me is wrong.’ The third time he asked, he took out a gun. Eventually he gave me a bullet and said, ‘You choose whether you want to

Wangu Kanja begins this interview by questioning why people have stopped being human. She wonders why the society has become so cruel. “Rape is a crime that defies all logic. Years back, it was unconventional to hear stories of men raping their daughters but such stories abound today,” says the rape survivor and sexual gender-based

Miriam Wangu Kanja, was heading home with friends one evening in December 2002, having come from a client’s office. She was working as a saleslady and the client offered her and a friend a ride home at night. But four gunmen confronted them and robbed them of their valuables. The thugs then put her in

Six years after being gang-raped and beaten in front of her husband and four-year-old child during a wave of post-election violence in Kenya, Nancy is still awaiting justice. If it were left to the country’s director of public prosecutions, Keriako Tobiko, she would never see it. Last month, Tobiko announced that his office would bring

Kenyans are currently awaiting a decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on whether or not the trial in The Hague against President Uhuru Kenyatta will proceed. The Kenyatta case has garnered significant attention because the defendant is a sitting head of state. However, the case is also noteworthy because it represents the only major

NAIROBI (TrustLaw) – Nearly one in three Kenyan girls experience sexual violence before the age of 18, according to a report launched by the Kenyan government and the United Nations on Wednesday. Three quarters of Kenyan children experience physical, sexual or emotional violence, according to the findings of the first nationwide household survey of more

This briefing paper reviews the Kenyan government’s response to sexual and gender-based violence committed against women, men, and children during the 2007/2008 post-election crisis. It draws on interviews with over 40 survivors about their experience and analyzes the laws and transitional justice mechanisms, like the Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence, that have been put

At the busy intersection of Accra Road and Tom Mboya Street in downtown Nairobi, a cacophony of voices clamour to be heard. Buses and vans vie for space on the roadside, and touts solicit passengers to ply their routes. Nearly everyone is on the move. Shortly after 12pm on 17 November, one noise superseded all

Personal initiative remains the most effective way of fighting Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV). Teaching close family members and communities how to detect, prevent and report cases of S/GBV may be the only guard against falling victim to perpetrators since the vice cuts across all socio-economic groups in Kenya. Statistics from Gender Violence Recovery

Nairobi, Kenya, ActionAid International Kenya (AAIK) launched the Ending Violence against Women and Girls in urban places programme. The programme which is funded by DFID is centered on ending all forms of violence and discrimination against girls and women and making cities safer places for all. It will benefit close to 20,000 women and girls

In 2002, I was car-jacked and raped. Traumatized and shaking, I remembered the advice of a family friend when I was growing up — that if I was ever raped, I should report it straight away. But the police turned me away. They didn’t want to know. I attended counseling, but I couldn’t cope with

Violence against women is a shocking fact of life for one woman in three globally. It not only affects women physically and psychologically, but it holds back entire communities and their development. Bringing down violence isn’t easy, but fearless women all over the world are standing up and speaking out. Let these five amazing women

Wangu Kanja was a victim of sexual violence, she is now using her experience to remove stigma and help survivors access psychological and legal support. In 2002 I was travelling back from work in Nairobi when I was carjacked and raped at gunpoint; I was 27. One man started telling me to undress and I

Women’s bodies were turned into battlefields in the 2007-08 post-election violence. Under the Journalists for Justice Programme, Joyce Wangui documents six women’s experiences, struggles and how they are coping seven years later. Many are the times Chichi has wished her seven-year-old daughter dead. She has tried strangling her, suffocating her, denying her food for days,

‘You can either be shot or be raped’. Brave Kenyan woman recalls the terrifying moment carjackers gave her a horrific choice and how her attackers have never been caught. Wangu Kanja, 40, from Nairobi, was sexually assaulted in 2002 Police refused to report the rape and recorded it as a ‘robbery’ No evidence was gathered

When I think about peanut butter, the first thing that comes to mind is how well it goes with jam, followed by how many calories it contains (which I quickly forget). The one thought that has never crossed my mind is how making peanut butter could change someone’s life – until last week, when I

The Wangu Kanja Foundation (K) is a registered Trustee under the Perpetual Succession Act Chapter 164 of the Laws of Kenya. The Foundation was born from challenges that the founder Wangu Kanja went through after she was raped in a carjacking incidence in 2002.